Arajet, the Dominican low-cost airline, received the flight room of two Dominican pilots of the Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, granted by the Dominican Institute of Civil Aviation (IDAC), the regulatory authority of aviation in the Dominican Republic.
These are the pilots Víctor Cruz and Yoryi Bonilla, who completed a series of requirements and tests to obtain this qualification, such as having flown more than 5,000 total hours, of which more than 1,000 have been in Arajet Boeing aircraft as first officers.
IDAC Director General Igor Rodríguez Durán visited Arajet facilities at the José Francisco Peña Gómez Las Américas International Airport in Santo Domingo to congratulate Dominican pilots for their efforts and achievements, as well as the airline for the various programs they carry out to stimulate Dominican talent and the development of commercial aviation in the country.
“As the Dominican Republic's civil aviation regulatory body, we work hand in hand with air operators to strengthen the sector. We will always be willing to promote Dominican talent for their training and to help them occupy spaces in the industry, thus becoming a benchmark in the region,” added Rodríguez.
For his part, Arajet's Chief of Operations, Garret Malone, explained that it is a priority for the company to be able to count on more and more Dominican pilots, technicians and crew members, which is why Arajet has been promoting the transfer of knowledge to Dominican personnel in order to meet the demand for employment that the airline needs to continue its growth.
“The biggest challenge we have in the Dominican Republic is talent; Arajet alone needs more than 200 additional pilots and more than 100 technicians in the coming years, so we must make a greater effort to train and transfer knowledge to Dominican personnel,” Malone stressed, adding “With these promotions we hope that these captains will be the first of many who will become instructors for future local pilots and thus
build the Dominican flag carrier that we all long for.”
Cruz and Bonilla are the first Dominican pilots promoted from first officers to captains at Arajet. They also reported that the cadet program will continue to be implemented with the Boeing company, so that Dominican pilots with few hours of flight experience can train within the Boeing and Arajet school, until they achieve their dreams of being pilots on the Dominican airline's aircraft.
Source: Arajet.